Scientists Teleport Information Between Ions a Meter Apart

erickhill writes with word that scientists from the University of Maryland have successfully transferred information from one charged atom to another without having it cross the intervening space of about one meter. The academic paper is available in the journal Science, though it requires a subscription to see more than the abstract. Scientists have previously teleported unmolested qubits between photons of light, and between photons and clouds of atoms. But researchers have long sought to teleport qubits between distant atoms. Light's high speed of travel makes photons good transporters of information, but for storing quantum information, atoms are a much better choice because they're easier to hold on to. 'This is a big deal,' comments Myungshik Kim, a quantum physicist at Queen's University Belfast in the United Kingdom. 'To store information as it is in quantum form, you have to have a teleportation scheme available between two stationary qubits. Then you can store them and manipulate them later on.'"

Comments

Scientists Teleport Information Between Ions

[Anonymous Coward]

Are they positive?

Unmolested?

[PhrostyMcByte]

Scientists have previously teleported unmolested qubits....

Qubit molester insists entanglement was consensual, stay tuned for details at 11.

Re:Unmolested?

[jd]

In breaking news, the molester has been ordered to both sign and not sign the Atomic Sexual Deviancy Register at the same time.

Re:Unmolested?

[Arthur Grumbine]

Unfortunately, as the molester was observed complying with these requirements, it was determined that the molester only completed one of them.

Bah!

[GaryOlson]

My mother always knew what I had done without anyone telling her. Or whatever I was going to do before I took action. I hear other mothers have the same ability. Therefore, all mothers must exist in some state of constant quantum communication with each other.

Re:Sounds neat, but I'm confused...

[TapeCutter]

"You could send something as simple as a yes/no - yes, I've read your message , or no, I haven't. [snip] Someone who understands it better, correct me and be more clear, please."

Analogy:
I have two basket balls, one has a cat inside - I don't know which one.
I send one basket ball to you.
I open my basket ball (observation).
I find it empty so I can deduce the cat is in yours (no information is transfered to you).
I cannot tell if you have opened yours and observed the cat as dead or alive.
You open yours and find a dead cat (observation).
Information is transfered in the normal manner when you call me up and ask why I sent you a dead cat in a basketball.